I am really happy with the croquet program we participate in. While we have our slow paced coffee/chat/laugh/banter…time in the morning we also have that mid-morning activity which every single one of them approach with at least a degree of seriousness and competitiveness. Every one of them.

Really each of them give it a darn good try. When we first arrived today they were in need of a foursome right away, and all six of the guys were ready and willing to jump right in. At the end, as always, help is needed for cleanup and the guys jump right in that as well, rolling up the rugs and carrying them outdoors to a storage shed, then moving tables and chairs back into place.

Off to lunch. Today in Morrison at the Red Rocks Grill, where Brian had requested the “back room” for us, which I had never been in, but it was so good for us. Nice to have the extra space and lack of noise and a more intimate feel. A couple of times it was too intimate however, since it was also where the bathroom was for all the other customers – but of course that led to further jokes which I will save you from hearing.

There were more serious talks today of course too, as well as all the laughter. Talk about our children’s careers, R and I in the car – he identified Otis Redding as the singer on the radio and had stories about him – L’s upcoming trip, many of them mention how much they care about their dogs, etc…

And that was about it today, I wish we could have had a walk or more time outdoors but the wind made that impossible. At least we were up and moving for more than an hour when we were at croquet, though I know that’s not much.

My favorite line of the day goes to M. Though this isn’t the funniest line – it wasn’t intended to be – but I thought is was important and it impressed me. My carpool was heading home and things had quieted down, it was sort of the winding down mellow time in our day. Out of the blue I heard him ask T: “your hands are large. I bet that helped you when you threw”. (meaning during his football days) As you know, those connections are important to me – that M remembered T’s personal history, and that he cared enough to ask…and then the conversations keep on going…